At times it looked like the All Blacks might run away with it in Paris, but Andy Farrell's side fought back and helped create a match to remember as it ended 28-24.
Click here for all of our statistics from the match.
In-game commentary
FULL-TIME: Ireland 24-28 New Zealand. The All Blacks will face Argentina in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals and the Irish are headed home after an all-timer clash.
76' New Zealand have just missed a drop goal. It remains 28-24 to the All Blacks.
72' Penalty to Ireland... but nothing comes of it.
70' Ten minutes to go in Paris and Farrell's Ireland left with work to do.
69' Penalty goal for New Zealand, J. Barrett makes good this time and it's 28-24 to the All Blacks now.
68' J. Barrett has missed a penalty for New Zealand! Is luck with the Irish tonight?
64' IRELAND PENALTY TRY! The Irish have pulled it back to just a 25-24 deficit, and New Zealand are down a man! Taylor sin-binned. Ireland fans are going wild in the stands!
59' Missed penalty by Sexton! It's not looking like Ireland's night in Paris, more heads in hands in the stands.
54' No error with the conversion. J. Barrett brilliantly makes it 25-17.
53' Try for New Zealand! It's Jordan who got the ball over the line. 23-17 to the All Blacks and it's not looking comfortable for Ireland now.
46' Smith is about to rejoin the match for New Zealand, following his first-half yellow card.
41' We are again underway in the Stade de France after the break.
41' And that's the break. Irish fans with heads in their hands after an exhilarating end to the first period.
40' Sexton gets the conversion and now the pendulum swings in Ireland's favour just before the break. The All Blacks now lead by just 18-17 with seconds of the first half remaining.
39' Try for the Irish! Gibson-Park gets it over the line, it's now just 18-15 to New Zealand.
37' Penalty for Ireland... and a yellow card for All Blacks' Smith.
34' Mo'unga fails to convert, it remains 18-10 to New Zealand.
33' Second try of the game for New Zealand, and it's Savea. 18-10 to the All Blacks.
29' Sexton with the conversion goal and it's now 13-10. Ireland fans in the stadium are on their feet, as are the Irish coaching staff.
27' Aki try! Ireland are back in this!
23' Sexton penalty! Ireland get on the scoreboard. 13-3 to New Zealand.
21' Mo'unga converts. 13-0 for the All Blacks.
20' Faingaanuku gets a try for New Zealand. Nightmare for Ireland.
15' J. Barrett bags a penalty from distance for New Zealand. 6-0 to the All Blacks.
13' Breathless opening 13 minutes and Ireland appear quite comfortable, despite the score.
9' Ireland concede a penalty to New Zealand, Mo'unga scores it. 3-0 to the All Blacks.
3' Both sides are clearly feeling the gravity of the occasion early on.
1' We are underway at the Stade de France!
The match will begin at 8pm BST.
Team news
Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Sexton, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; Beirne, Henderson; O’Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris
Replacements: Kelleher, Kilcoyne, Bealham, McCarthy, Conan, Murray, Crowley, O’Brien
New Zealand: B. Barrett; Jordan, Ioane, J. Barrett, Fainga'anuku; Mo'unga, Smith; De Groot, Taylor, Lomax; Retallick, S. Barrett; Frizell, Cane, Savea
Replacements: Coles, Williams, Newell, Whitelock, Papali’i, Christie, McKenzie, Lienert-Brown
Preview
A repeat of the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC) quarter-final between Ireland and New Zealand in 2023 could be anything but a repeat given how far the Irish side have come in four years, to the point where they will go into this historic clash in Paris as narrow favourites.
They conquered all before them in Pool A and have already made history before stepping out onto the Stade de France in Paris by registering their first undefeated pool stage in RWC history, whilst extending an already national record 16-game winning streak to 17.
Only England and their opponents New Zealand have put together winning streaks of 18 or more, so there’s more history on the line as Ireland also look to defeat the All Blacks three consecutive times for the first time ever.
It was the first game of a three-game series in New Zealand last year that sparked their phenomenal winning streak, when they overcame a game one loss to record their inaugural series victory in New Zealand.
Since then, head coach Andy Farrell believes the players have also overcome an “inferiority complex” that saw them go into the 2019 edition as the number one ranked nation only to once again fail to reach the final four. Farrell was assistant coach to Andy Schmidt at the time and the succession plan has worked wonders.
The belief and confidence in the Irish side, who have even covered the pre-match handicap in eight of their 12 victories this season, has been evident every time they’ve stepped out onto the pitch at this World Cup.
So whilst their opponents are looking primed to write some new history, New Zealand are in the mood to emulate it - namely, replicating South Africa’s historic 2019 triumph that came in the face of losing their opening pool stage game.
After France handed them a reality check in the first week of the competition, they took their frustrations out on Italy and the two Tier 2 members of the group to register the most points (253) by far of the pool stage.
Their head coach Ian Foster has been planning for this match to some extent for three years, having identified Ireland as their most likely quarter-final opponent when the groups were first drawn in 2020.
The only thing that hasn’t gone to plan is that New Zealand didn’t go into this one as the group winners, but that counts for nothing once the Haka is complete.
The Irish are becoming somewhat of a bogey team for the All Blacks, who have lost five of the last eight head-to-head meetings after remaining undefeated across all venues against the Irish for more than a century. But they look to be regaining their mojo as the tournament wears on, conceding a total of only six first-half points across their last three wins to secure their victories early.
That has allowed them to conserve a bit of energy and intensity during a long tournament and to become reacquainted with a reputation for blowing other teams out of the water in a 20-minute period. They could challenge Ireland’s record of ten opening tries and 11 half-time leads from 12 matches in 2023.
Ireland have backed in an unchanged starting XV this week, retaining all 15 players who ran on in the 36-14 win over Scotland last weekend. New Zealand have made several changes as originally planned, but the one shock is the standing down of star winger Mark Telea for disciplinary reasons.
Foster assured the media during the week that it was for a minor indiscretion (a breach of curfew was reported by one journalist) and that Telea would be available for selection next week after he trained with distinction.
Players to watch: Only France’s Damian Penaud has scored in more internationals than Ireland winger James Lowe (six), and his recovery from an injury scare during the week is an enormous boost to their winning prospects.
One of two All Blacks to score a try in two of the three games against Ireland last year was fellow wing Will Jordan. He backs up in good form after doubles against Italy and Uruguay.
Hot stat: Ireland have a 30-2 record when scoring the opening try since being eliminated from the 2019 World Cup.